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Tiger Tracker: Round 1 of WGC-Cadillac Championship from Doral

DORAL — Will Tiger tame the Blue Monster, or will his bad back tame Tiger? That’s the big question we’re here to answer. Follow along as we go inside the ropes with the world’s No. 1 player in the opening round of the WGC-Cadillac Championships.

If Woods, 38, is to win for the fifth time at Doral, he will need to overcome the injury and related early-season struggles that have seen him play just 10 competitive rounds this year.

He finished 80th at the Farmers Insurance Open, went T-41st at Omega Dubai and withdrew last week at the Honda Classic. Woods was outside the top 40 when he withdrew, citing back spasms that left him struggling to twist.

He said Wednesday the flare-up had quieted, and he remains on course for the Masters next month.

Tiger, whose last major win was the 2008 U.S. Open — on a broken knee which later required surgery — has withdrawn from four tournaments in the past five years, each time due to injury. Two years ago, he left Doral midway through the final round due to Achilles problems.

Woods tested the course Tuesday but not his back, electing to hit nothing longer than 60 yards as he scoped out an extensively renovated Trump track, which has gone from four watery holes to 14, and looks different on nearly every single hole.

If anyone is mentally prepared for the challenge, it’s Woods, the defending champ. He will tee off at 12:39 p.m. with Henrik Stenson and Adam Scott. The trio is interesting for more than just Tiger; with a win, Scott could overtake Woods as World No. 1. Keep a browser tab open and hit refresh to get the latest from the course.

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Play will resume at 8:45 a.m. tomorrow. We’ll resume tracking at No. 11, where Tiger (and his bad back) will play the first of 26 holes tomorrow.

6:45 Tiger quotes have arrived in the press room. Don’t know who was asking the questions, but here you go:

On how it felt out there: “Felt a lot better today.”

Thoughts on playing more than 18 holes tomorrow: “Should be a long day for all of us. Hopefully tomorrow I can get back out there in the morning, play well and work back to even par by the end of the first round. Then shoot a low one in the afternoon.”

Any issues when taking your first full swings in a few days, then sitting for two hours and re-starting? “No, warmup was good and I felt good all day even through the delay. I’m ready to go back out tomorrow and play well.”

6:36: No Tiger quotes yet, but here’s a good one from Hunter Mahan who, like many, thought the day would be rained out:

“We were all pretty surprised when they said, ‘4:45, in position,’ because a lot of guys were probably in the rooms chilling out. I know my caddie was in his room playing the guitar and getting ready to order room service. That caught us by surprise but that’s a part of the PGA Tour.”

6:30 Tiger did not speak to reporters immediately following his 2-0ver start, which included two bogeys and zero birdies in 10 holes.

5:57 Three blasts of the horn signals the day’s end. Handshakes all around, though if Tiger and Steve Williams shook, I missed it.

5:54 Wind knocks down Tiger’s approach. He’s on, but well below the pin. With his caddy, LaCava, tending the stick, he shoots a 50-footer left of the hole. That leaves him with a bending seven-footer for par, which he misses. He grits his teeth and finishes with a bogey.

Tiger is 2-over through 10 holes.

5:49 All players forced to cut the lake in front of the par-5, 614-yard 10th tee. Tiger’s geometry is a little off: he clears water, but overshoots the thin strip of fairway and lands in a bunker. He lays up a bit, placing a 4-iron 130 yards short, avoiding a nasty gang of greenfront bunkers.

There’s a slight break in the clouds, but most of them never left. It’s getting noticeably dark.

5:31 On a 200-yard, par-3 ninth over water, Woods’ approach hits the green but doesn’t bite, and rolls off the back-right into a bunker.

One greenside fan, who couldn’t be more than 13, produces a pretty strong piece of Tiger analysis in a conversation with his older friend: “He looks 37.”

Woods’ next shot is an ageless beauty. He splashes out and slowly rolls it to within two feet. Sinks the putt for par.

5:22 Woods’ demeanor: dark and stormy. After such a strong play to the green, Tiger rolls a slightly downhill, would-be birdie short, but cleans up a two-footer for par to stay 1-under.

5:16 Time to play. He attacks the green, his ball clearing the water, landing short on the fairway and rolling onward, settling above the pin. He gives a nod and a wave to an appreciative crowd. “That was serious,” one man says. “That was worth coming out here for.”

5:08 Tricky shot ahead for Woods, who sits in the fairway rough fronting a bunker, the green about 220 yards away and over water. He has another laugh with LaCava while waiting for the group ahead. The gallery has filled in some, now numbering more than 60 along the ropes.

5:04 Driver is the club of choice for Woods on the par-5, 549-yard eighth. It has a bend in it he doesn’t like, but he’s out into the fairway, if a little right.

5:02 Tiger, who splashed into a fairway bunker before the delay, finds the green with his approach. He rolls a birdie try from 65 a little left. A nice attempt on the wet grass. He sinks a three-foot par putt and acknowledges the diehards with a wave. He remains 1-over.

4:56 Also, no other downed palms spotted on the walk out. Course looks good, aside from the some fallen leaves and palm fronds.

4:46 Hardly stepped in a puddle on the long walk out to No. 7. Not bad, Trump.
Horn sounds three times and we’re back on. A total of six fans caught up with Tiger before my arrival. Less than a dozen ringing the green, about 160 yards away. Has to be one of the smallest galleries Tiger’s ever seen.

4:35 Trump said this week his course, which was built on sand, can drain in five minutes. We’re about to put that to the test. Play resumes at 4:45.

Tiger Woods (center) gets a ride in a cart with his caddy Joe LaCava (left) off the course after approaching bad weather suspended play in the first round. (AP photo)

Officially, Woods is 1-over through six. He was was playing his second shot on No. 7 when a weather delay took effect.

2:21 One long horn heard at Doral. That means seek shelter — severe weather on the way. Temps are dropping a bit, but we haven’t seen rain yet. Dark blue clouds are seen in the northwest. Thousands of fans start streaming back to the main clubhouse.

A course official says players will tee off early tomorrow if we’re washed out today.

2:19 The par-4, 471-yard seventh has a gateway hill of bunkers guarding the approach. Tiger goes driver off the box.

2:13 Woods leaves an uphill birdie bid long, then taps a two-footer for par to stay 1-over. On the way to No. 7, he throws a light fist-bump at a male fan and smiles at two happy blondes cheering, “Go get ’em, Tiger!”

2:08 Stenson sprays his approach right after getting off the par-4, 432-yard sixth. Woods and Stenson find the green. Swirling winds on a Trumped-up course means nothing is coming easy for any man today.

2:06 While waiting for the group ahead (Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia and Zach Johnson) to finish, Woods shares a laugh with his caddy, Joe LaCava. Maybe he’s loosening up.

2:00 But the course is playing as tough as The Donald had it drawn up. All three men escape a brutal green with two-putts.

1:57 Tiger hits the green in two on the par-4, 421-yard fifth. He’s on the rear of a snaking downhill green, 15 feet away from the cup. As he addresses the ball, a piece of wax paper tumbleweeds its way from the gallery, over the bunker, across the green … and right into Tiger’s path. He steps away. Not exactly the playing experience Donald Trump intended.

1:41 With a long way to go, Woods chips from the fringe, downhill 60 feet, and rolls it nine feet past. He misses the uphill par putt, and collects a bogey.

He’s having a more even-keeled round than Stenson, who went birdie-double on the first two. On 3, he just missed a long birdie try, as did Scott, who remains at par.

1:33 Maybe the short holes will agree with him. Tiger takes a 5-iron to a headwind on the par-3, 203-yard third. He stripes it over water, an airplane taking off, but it lands back left and kicks far behind the pin. “How the hell did it go that far?” he asks no one in particular, or maybe the Golf Gods.

1:28 Then, he misses a relatively flat putt. It clanks off the back-right edge of the hole. Still even.

1:27 Still even but knowing he missed a good birdie chance, a stone-faced Woods masterfully plays a par-4, 436-yard dogleg right. His tee shot settles in front of a fairway bunker. His 7-iron approach rides some strong left-to-right breeze over water and onto the green, 10 feet from the cup.

1:18 With most of South Florida under a tornado watch, weather will increasingly become an issue as the day wears on. The National Weather Service tweeted that it expects a “severe bow echo with damaging winds” to be near the area somewhere around 3 p.m.

The Golf Channel just posted the radar shot and estimated the worst of the weather to be near the course between 3 and 4. Doesn’t look like anyone is finishing a round today unless the weather blows through very quickly.

1:11 Stiff wind kicking up, though the rain is holding off for now. After waiting for Stenson, who shanked his approach left, Woods leaves a downhill birdie try short. He closes his eyes, purses his lips and delivers a sharp “[Darn] me.” On the way to No. 3, a fan tells him in earnest, “Greatest putter alive,” though Tiger likely didn’t care to hear the encouragement.

1:01 On a par-4, 448-yard second, Woods’ tee shot is like his first: headed for the beach. It curls away from trouble, but he’s hardly satisfied.

12:58 Will be interesting to see how much Woods interacts with Scott, who can overtake his World No. 1 ranking with a win here. We know he won’t be chatty with Scott’s caddy, Steve Williams. You might say they have a history.

12:55 Woods is away, and escapes with a long iron to about 80 yards. His approach is low, but kicks off a greenfront mound and settles on another hill. As the wind and a light rain arrive, he two-putts for par.

12:39 Cheered loudly upon introduction, Woods starts his round by lacing a drive down the fairway of the 529-yard, par-5 first. He’s not happy. He and Stenson are in a fairway bunker on the right.

Tiger Woods tees off at the first hole of the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral on Thursday.

12:36 Tiger poses for a photo on the No. 1 tee box with Scott and Stenson, managing to crack a smile. He doesn’t look happy. You wonder about the back and how much it’s hurting him.

12:32 Tiger, wearing blue-on-blue under heavy cloud cover, hits a few putts in front of a thick gallery ringing the practice green. Looks like we’re in line for some rain today. I’ve pocketed a poncho.

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